Rich & Hearty Oxtail Ragu

There are few foods more satisfying than pasta, especially pasta mixed with a rich ragu or bolognese. There's something about scooping up a big, heaping forkful of al dente penne, with the meat sauce clinging to every ridge of the pasta that pleases the palate, stomach and brain like no other.

While I love a good marinara, I prefer a sauce that has more personality and depth. I recently tried Mario Batali's Oxtail Ragu from the Babbo Cookbook, and while it's a bit of work (one of the ingredients is Mario's marinara sauce, so you should make that the day before), it was exactly the rich, filling sauce I was craving. His recipe recommends serving this over gnocchi but I think that could be TOO filling.

The only thing you'll need to serve alongside this heavy dish is a crisp summer salad, and a bottle of a good Italian red wine. Buon appetito!

Bruschetta Two Ways

Whenever I have a dinner party, I must – must start off with an appetizer and some drinks/wine. I think it’s best to ease your guests into the actual dinner part of the evening; after all, no one wants to walk in the door and be ushered straight into the main point of the evening. A couple of trays of bite-sized, finger appetizers is a great way to take the pressure off and let people relax with a bit of food and drink. This is a good time for introductions, catching up and doing exactly what people want to do at parties: relax and have fun.

As casual as I make it all sound, however, it’s important to make sure the first bites of the evening are, in fact, memorable. After all, these little morsels set the tone for the rest of the meal, and there’s nothing that says Disaster Town faster than some hapless array of half-ass finger foods (read: carrot sticks and canned veggie dip, Vienna sausages on a stick). That said, I like to partake in my own parties so I want something that’s relatively easy, with components that can be done the day before.

For a recent gathering, I served bruschetta two ways: Fig Jam, Prosciutto and fresh Asiago; and Sicilian Tomato Jam with Marinated White Anchovies. I bought the fig jam, but decided to try my hand at this very easy Sicilian Jam recipe since I had some beautiful garden-grown tomatoes from my parents yard. I followed the recipe exactly but also added 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes during the cooking process. I highly recommend it!

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

It’s quite rare to have a truly “special” food experience at a restaurant these days. Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of very good restaurants producing very good food. But few, in my humble opinion, turn out genuinely unique and exceptional dishes that transform the average dining-out experience into an otherworldly affair.

Friday night at LudoBites was one of those distinctive dining experiences that will stay with me for a long time. I went with the PleasurePalate Meetup group – 8 people total, none of whom I had ever met. The evening started off with a bit of drama, thanks to one of the women in our group. Minutes after sitting down, the woman yelled out to Ludo, who happened to be walking by our table. “Hey, YOU. Come here,” she said, with about as much grace as a truck driver spitting a tobacco loogie out of his big-rig window. “Yeah, YOU. COME HERE.” Ludo, caught off guard and clearly offended, stood his ground and asked what she wanted. “I want to take a photo with you.” He mumbled something about doing it later and walked away, head shaking with disbelief. Of course, this woman was sitting right next to me and immediately I feared that our whole table would be guilty by association and therefore receive ill treatment for the rest of the night. Thankfully, that was not the case.

We divided the table into two groups of four people and ordered plates to share: the first was a luscious and cool chorizo soup with cantaloupe chunks and a cornichon sorbet. It was spicy and creamy, and the tang of the sorbet and honey-flavored cantaloupe really balanced out the richness of this liquid velvet. It was a revelation in that typically I do not like gazpachos or cold soups. This? To say I’d like to bathe in it would be an understatement.

The rest of the evening was one lively surprise after another: veal tartar that had a hint of oyster flavor and a lovely crunch from slivered almonds; the creamy polenta with cantal cheese and black truffle that had a beautiful grits-like texture and hid a layer of exquisitely-cooked, shredded meat (oxtail?) at the bottom of the bowl, the culinary equivalent to finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. The sinfully rich lacquered pork belly topped with a cool mustard ice cream was gorgeous and fanciful; and my favorites of the evening – a buttery chicken liver mousse atop a savory onion brioche and sweet green apple gelee, and the famed foie gras Croque Monsieur with a cherry compote on squid ink bread – have been haunting my dreams ever since. Ludo’s skill and sense of whimsy are evident in every single dish he prepares.

For dessert, I had to be selfish: I wanted the chocolate cup cake with foie gras Chantilly cream and candied bacon all to myself. Basically, it was a rich chocolate cake with a foie gras frosting, and though that description may scare you, the perfect flavors would convince you that more chefs need to use offal toppings on their desserts.

The thing with Ludo’s cooking is that he combines flavors, textures and ingredients that I, even as a pretty good cook, would never think to try. He’s not afraid to take chances, to throw caution to the culinary wind and do something daring. And that, my friends, is what makes LudoBites a truly unique dining-out experience. I will miss it, and look forward to his new venture – wherever it may be.

Simpler is Better

I love summer nights on the patio: friends and family, many glasses of wine, a cool breeze and lots of delicious food. Or, should I say, lots of delicious, simple food.

I had my family over for dinner last weekend, and for the most part, I kept it simple. For starters, I baked up some flatbread topped with olive oil, sea salt, sliced leeks and chives. I didn't make the dough, I used Pillsbury Pizza Dough - yup, from a can. I find that it's great for flatbreads because you don't need a roller (just unroll and push out with your fingers) and it bakes up golden delicious in mere minutes.

With the flatbread, I served an appetizer that I'd had at a restaurant in Prague earlier this year: peas with shallots and burrata cheese. I made an easy vinaigrette with tarragon vinegar and olive oil to drizzle over the top. The combination of the slightly sweet peas, the tangy vinegar and the creamy cheese is fantastic. This takes all of about 5 minutes to put together, and is great on top of the onion-y flatbread.

As a side dish to the main course, my parents brought these gorgeous tomatoes from their own backyard, which I served with some spring mix and cucumbers tossed in some roasted garlic Dijon dressing I made the day before. Again, simple but fabulous!

The main course, unfortunately, is where I made a mistake. I had seen this recipe in the current issue of Bon Apetite magazine, and the summery photo immediately caught my attention. Though the recipe was slightly complicated, it sounded quite good: Black Cod with Fennel Chowder and Smoked Oyster Panzanella. I made the chowder the day before, which on its own was quite good, but when paired with the rich Black Cod, it became an extra layer of super fatty creaminess. Though the lemony/oyster panzanella should have worked to cut the cream, it, too, just lost itself in the overwhelming creamy fattiness of the dish.

It wasn't bad, but there was no real balance of texture of flavors here, and though I added extra lemon zest for a bit more acid, it just didn't work. I think the recipe should be altered so that the chowder is less heavy, and the fish should be something less fatty, like a tilapia or halibut. Instead of smoked oysters, which are actually quite mild, I think something heartier and smokier like smoked clams or mussells would work nicely, and the panzanella should be made with bread cubes, not panko like the recipe calls for. It doesn't retain its crunch after being mixed with the smoked oyster salad, whereas bread cubes would. Overall it was a complicated recipe with disappointing results, and in the end I'd wished I would have made something simpler, like a nice flank steak with a chimichurri. When you put that much work into a dish, it really sucks when it doesn't come out the way you'd expect!

Luckily I'd gone back to the simple concept for dessert with this white nectarine tart (adapted from F&W's White Peach Tart recipe). I loved this crust because it requires no rolling out - it comes together quickly in your food processor and you simply press it into the tart pan. The texture is almost like a cookie and it's holds up well to the juicy nectarines. Topped with a big of vanilla ice cream, it's really the perfect summer dessert: simple, fresh and delicious.

Summer Recap and Apologies for Slackin'

I've been pretty bad about blogging this summer. The reason? I've been focusing my energies on my professional writing gigs (gotta pay the bills), and updating my online portfolio and that, in turn, has put Rainy Days & Sundays at the bottom of the priorities list. Since my posting schedule has been a bit spotty of late, I thought I'd recap some culinary and related highlights from my summer so far that I haven't already blogged about:

*I finished re-doing my patio (pictured above), which entailed re-oiling the patio set, buying and planting new plants and doing a ton of sweeping and cleaning. I will be hosting my second summer BBQ here very soon!

*Finally got to Church & State the other night, and managed to get a couple of seats at the bar. Thoroughly enjoyed everything from the bacon and Gruyere tart to the rich and buttery escargot. But the best part was seeing and meeting Thomas Keller, who happened to be eating there that night.

*Ate dinner at Rivera recently, which was a real treat. Fell in love with the stuffed piquillo peppers and the duck confit. Perfect service, really mellow atmosphere in the back room.

*Bar-hopped in San Francisco and hit Bollywood, Dalva and some Irish pub. That's one of the things I miss most about SF; tons of casual bars (read: no velvet rope!) all within walking distance.

*Ate the perfect brunch at Bar Tartine (San Francisco): Heirloom tomato and erbette chard panade with fontina, sweet onions, basil and slow cooked eggs. Basically it was a savory bread pudding with really crispy edges topped with beautifully cooked eggs. Heaven!!

*Favorite meal I've been making a lot at home lately: Grilled fish tacos. I keep the corn tortillas in the freezer, take two out, microwave them for 20 seconds. I grill a tilapea or cod or whatever-fish-I-have on my grill pan with a bit of salt and pepper. I then make a sauce using plain Greek yogurt mixed with a touch of white vinegar and Sriracha, and grate a bit of cabbage, slice a scallion and chop some cilantro. Assemble fish, cabbage, scallions, cilantro and sauce in the tortilla and you've got super easy and delicious fish tacos!

*My solution for eating what I want without major repercussions has been to walk to the gym 6 days a week and work out for 40 minutes to an hour. It was hard at first but I'm really enjoying it now. Believe me, it sure beats dieting!!

Hope you are enjoying your summer. I promise to get back to blogging very soon!